British to American
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Accumulator (automotive) = battery, car
battery
Alsatian (dog) = German shepherd
Articulated lorry = tractor-trailer (truck),
a "semi"
Ass = donkey; U.S. ass = G.B. "arse,"
i.e. one's backside (in addition to normal
"donkey")
Athletics (an ... meet) = track and field
Backlog = log-jam, pile-up (of business
orders, for example). U.S. backlog =
comfortable reserve of orders —
difference between the two is in opposite
interpretation or connotation of same
basic situation.
Bank holiday = holiday
Bap = bun, hamburger bun, hamburger
roll
Mrs. Beeton = Fanny Farmer (standard
cooking, household reference book)
Bespoke = custom-tailored, tailor-made
Big Dipper = roller coaster (at a "FunFair" = "Amusement Park"
Bilberry = blueberry
"Bird" = "chick"
Biro = Papermate (ball-point pen trade
name which equals "generic" name)
Biscuit = cookie (U.S. "biscuit" is a
baked bread, "bap," "scone"
Blancmange = vanilla pudding
Block, block of flats = apartment
building (U.S. term "block" [city block]
unknown as such in British English,
though usually understandable.
"Bomb" (theater terminology) = a "hit," a
great success. U.S. "bomb" = G.B.
failure, critical disaster, i.e. the two are
exact opposites in sentences like "The
play was a bomb!"
Boiler suit = overalls
Bonnet (automotive) = hood (of a car...)
Boot (automotive) = trunk (of a car...)
Bottom drawer = hope chest
Bowler (hat) = derby (special
connotations & different pronunc.)
Braces = suspenders; U.S. suspenders =
G.B. garters, stocking fasteners
Brambleberry = blackberry
Bottom of the street = end of the street
Box (TV) = Tube (both slang, colloquial
terms)
Bull = "mickey mouse" (unnecessary
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Lumber room = spare room, storage
room (in a home)
Mackintosh = raincoat, overcoat,
trenchcoat
Mains = ordinary built-in home electrical
network (no special word as equivalent
in U.S.)
Market garden = truck farm
Marrow (vegetable) = squash, gourd
Mason = stoneworker; U.S. mason can
be stone- or brickworker
Marriage lines = marriage certificate
Mean = stingy, tight with money; U.S.
"mean" normally means nasty, spiteful,
ill-meaning in action toward another
Mess kit = formal military dress for
ceremonial dining; U.S. mess kit = army
or boy scout utensils for cooking or
eating a meal on the trail.
Minced meat = hamburger meat, ground
beef; U.S. mincemeat = sweet, spicy
ground meat/fruit/nut combination used
for making pies, especially around
Thanksgiving/Christmas
Mineral water = any carbonated soft
drink; U.S. mineral water = bottled
natural water (containing normal
minerals) from spring or health spa,
Perrier water, etc.
Mistress = teacher in girls' school; U.S.
mistress = lover (extramarital)
Mob = gang, group (neutral); U.S. mob =
angry crowd; "the mob" = Mafia
Motorist, motoring = driver, driving
Music Hall = vaudeville (generic
entertainment type/place name)
Nappy = diaper (for infants not toilettrained)
A Neat drink = a straight drink, i.e. "give
me a straight whiskey" = whiskey
without water or other additives
Nervy = nervous, jumpy; U.S. nervy =
bold, impertinent, i.e. nearly the opposite
of the British usage
Night club = private membership club;
U.S. nightclubs are public (commercial)
entertainment places
Number plate = license plate (on
automobiles)
Off-license = liquor store
Old boy (girl) = alumni, alumnus,
alumna [of a school]
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military drill); U.S. bull = G.B. cock
Bum = ass, rectum; U.S. bum = G.B.
tramp, derelict
Bun in the oven = pregnant, eating for
two
Call box = (tele)phone booth
Camp bed = cot; U.S. cot = G.B. baby
bed
Car park = parking lot
Caretaker (for a building) = janitor (not
same as "vahtimestari")
Carriage (railway) = railroad car, subway
car
Carrier bag = shopping bag
Caucus = permanent group in a political
party; U.S. caucus = G.B. ad hoc
planning meeting of a group in a political
party
Central reservation = median strip
(between halves of a divided highway)
Charge sheet = police record
Chemist (drugstore) = druggist
Chips = french fries; U.S. chips often =
dried buffalo, cow dung (other cases, i.e.
poker chips, wood chips, the same)
Chucker-out = bouncer (doorman or
"enforcer" in a bar/restaurant
"In the City" = "on Wall Street" (in main
financial district)
City editor = financial editor; U.S. city
editor = G.B. "community news editor"
Cloakroom = toilet; U.S. cloakroom =
clothes closet, garment storage area
Coach = intercity bus
Combinations = union suit (colloquial
for long underwear)
Comforter = scarf; U.S. comforter =
heavy quilt, blanket
Compére = Master of ceremonies, M.C.
(of TV game show, etc.)
Constable = (police) officer
"To cop" = "to get" something
unpleasant, i.e. "to cop a 15-pound fine."
U.S. "to cop" = to plead guilty to a lesser
charge in order to avoid prosecution &
probable conviction on a more serious
charge ("to cop a plea" = "pleabargaining")
Corn = all grain crops; U.S. corn = G.B.
"maize" only.
Costermonger = pushcart seller
(Sent to) Coventry = ostracized
Crisps = potato chips
Cupboard = closet; U.S. closet = G.B.
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Pantechnicon = moving van
Panda car = police patrol car, police
cruiser
Patience (card game) = Solitaire
Pecker (keep your pecker up) = keep
your chin up; U.S. pecker = penis
Pram (peramulator) = baby carriage,
baby buggy, stroller, walker
Petrol = gasoline, gas (to go in
automobiles, airplane, etc.)
Pie = meat pie; U.S. pie is always a fruit
or fruit-derived pie, unless "a meat pie"
is specifically indicated
Pillar-box = mailbox, post office box,
letter box, letter drop
Pissed (he was really...) = drunk; U.S.
"pissed = angry, upset
Pitch (soccer) = field (football) [GB
"football" = US "soccer"]
Plimsolls = sneakers, tennis shoes, gym
shoes
Point = electric outlet, railroad switch
(depending on context)
Polka dots = chocolate chips (food
product for baking)
Prawn = shrimp
Prom, prom concert = music concerts
where most of the audience is standing;
U.S. prom = dance, semi-formal,
especially at end of year in high schools,
colleges
Rates = local, municipal property taxes
Redundant = laid off (from a job); U.S.
redundant = superfluous (no connotation
of connection with jobs at all)
Return ticket = round-trip ticket
Ringway = circular road (around a city),
bypass
Rise = raise in salary
To Roger = to "screw," have sex with; to
exploit, take advantage of, to use
Roll neck (pullover) = turtleneck
(sweater).
Roundabout = traffic circle
Rubber = eraser; U.S. rubber = condom,
prophylactic device
Saloon = "sedan" car (automobile); US
saloon = western-style bar
Saloon bar = one section of an English
pub
Sanitary towel = sanitary napkin,
feminine hygienic item
A good screw = a good salary; U.S.
"good screw" equals good "fuck" or
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w.c., or toilet
Davenport = antique folding writing
desk; U.S. davenport = large sofa, often
which folds out into a bed at night.
Deposit account = savings account
Dinner jacket = tuxedo ("black tie"
formal dress)
Dormitory = bedroom; U.S. dormitory =
G.B. residence hall
Dresser = kitchen sideboard; U.S. dresser
= bedroom drawers, vanity
"Duck" = "goose egg" (a zero on the
scoreboard of a sports match)
Dumb = mute; U.S. dumb usually means
"stupid" rather than "mute," which is a
secondary meaning in U.S. usage.
Dustbin = garbage can, ashcan (exterior
waste-disposal unit)
Dynamo (automotive) = generator
(within automobile engine)
Earth wire = ground wire (in electricity,
electronics)
Elastic band = rubber band
To Enjoin = to compel, to legally force;
U.S. enjoin = to legally forbid — i.e.
same term in same general contextual
usage has precisely the opposite meaning
Ex-serviceman = veteran; U.S. veteran =
G.B. old ex-serviceman; (U.S. term has
no special age connotation, only that the
person have had prior military
experience sometime)
Fag = (a) cigarette; (b) public-school
underclass "servant"; U.S. fag = lowslang term for male homosexual.
Fanny = vagina (vulgar usage); U.S.
fanny = light euphemism for "backside,"
either male or female.
First floor = second floor, etc. (Britain
walks in ground floor, goes up 1 set of
stairs to first floor; U.S. ground floor and
first floor are the same.
Fish slice = pancake turner, spatula
(kitchen tool); U.S. spatula = G.B.
tongue depressor (medical instrument)
Fitted carpet = wall-to-wall carpeting
Flan = pie, fruit pie
Flannel = washcloth; U.S. flannel =
heavy warm cotton fabric; "flannels"
would be long underwear made from
such heavy warm fabric.
Flat = apartment; U.S. flat = tenement
flat = poor-standard slum apartment.
Flick knife = switch-blade knife, a
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good sexual experience
To Screw = to cajole, persuade, extract
money from; U.S. "to screw" = to have
sex with, fornicate
Season ticket = commuter (train, bus)
weekly or monthly ticket; U.S. season
ticket is admission ticket to all home
games in one season of a particular
sports team
To Second to = to temporarily loan staff
to another job or unit
Sellotape = Scotch tape (both brand
names now used as "generics"
"Semi" = duplex, duplex house; U.S.
"semi" = tractor-trailer truck rig
Seminary = Roman Catholic seminary
only; U.S. Seminary can be ANY
religion, i.e. Lutheran, Methodist
seminaries
Sherbet = powdered, fruit-flavored
candy; U.S. sherbet = G.B. sorbet
(pronounced "soorbay")
Shorthand-typist = stenographer
To shy = to throw something (he shied a
rock at the stray dog...)
Sideboards = sideburns (in a hairstyle)
Single = one-way ticket; U.S. "single" in
context would mean "only one" as
opposed to "several" tickets
To Snog = to neck (i.e. kissing, hugging,
etc., esp teenagers)
Spinster = any unmarried woman; U.S.
spinster is always OLD unmarried
woman
Standard lamp = floor lamp (as opposed
to table or wall lamp)
S.T.D. (subscriber trunk dialling) =
direct distance dialling [on the telephone,
as opposed to dialling through operator]
Steps = ladder; U.S. "steps" always
would mean staircase, built- in stairway
or staircase
To stream (pupils in a school) = to track
(streaming = tracking)
Stroke (punctuation) = diagonal, slash
To Stuff = to fornicate, have sex with;
U.S. "I'm stuffed..." = to be comfortably,
pleasantly full of food, satiated
Sub-editor = copy reader or rewrite
person, in journalism
Subs = dues, as in union dues, etc.
Subway = underground walking passage,
underpass, pedestrian tunnel; U.S.
subway = G.B. "underground," i.e.
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switchblade
Flyover = overpass (as in a bridge over a
road); U.S. flyover = airplane passing
over a certain place, as in military parade
"flyovers"; verb is "to overfly."
Form (school) = grade [i.e. first form =
first grade in school]
Garden = yard; U.S. garden = vegetable
garden, fljower garden, i.e. area of
special cultivation. U.S. yard = G.B.
paved area (lorry yards)
Goods (car, train) = freight; U.S. goods =
supplies, commercial stock
Grind = sexual intercourse; U.S. grind =
slang for "hard (routine) work."
Haberdasher = notions seller; U.S.
haberdasher = men's clothing seller
To Hack = to (deliberately) kick; U.S. to
hack = to chop, cut viciously.
High street = Main street
To Hire = to rent (in most cases); U.S. to
hire = to employ Hire-purchase = (the
"never-never") = installment plan
Hoarding = billboard (large advertising
sign alongside road)
Hold up = traffic jam; U.S. holdup =
robbery at gunpoint.
Homely = home-loving, domestic,
pleasant; U.S. homely = plain- looking
(female), therefore often "left" at home.
To Hoover = to vacuum (carpets, etc.)
"Hoover" in the U.S. is a brand name
only, never used as a verb.
Inland = internal, domestic (Inland
Revenue = Internal Revenue)
Inverted commas = quotation marks (GB
= 'xx'; USA = "xx")
Inquiry agent = private detective
Jelly = Jello (deriving from brand name
Jell-O, gelatin dessert)
"On the job" = having sexual intercourse;
U.s. "on the job" = while working,
learning, i.e. "on the job training."
Joint = pot roast; U.S. "joint" =
marijuana cigarette
Juggernaut lorry = a very large truck, an
overlong truck, a "double semi" truck
Jumble sale = rummage sale
Jumper = light pullover (sweater); U.S.
jumper = type of knee- length woman's
dress worn over blouse or sweater
Kirby grips = bobby pins (to fasten long
hair ...)
A Knock-up = (tennis) to warm up, to
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underground railway system for public
transportation
Superannuation scheme = retirement
pension plan
Supply teacher = substitute teacher
Supertax = surtax
Surgery = a doctor's office, office hours,
reception time; U.S. "surgery" refers to
"surgeon" operating on a patient
Suspenders = garters, for socks or
stockings only; U.S. suspenders = G.B.
braces, for holding up trousers
Sweet = dessert, or piece of candy
Sweetshop = candy store
To Table (parliamentary procedure,
conference terminology) = to put on
agenda for immediate handling; U.S. "to
table" = to put aside [indefinitely], to
delay further handling
Tannoy = public address (p.a.)
amplification system
Teat = baby bottle nipple; US teat = GB
nipple = breast nipple
Terrace house = row house, garden
apartment, town house
Are you Through? (telephone) = are you
connected; U.S. "are you through"? = are
you finished, completed, with your call
To tick = to check, place check mark
beside
Tights = hose, panty hoseh, nylons,
nylon stockings; U.S. tights = leotards,
skin-tight exercise suit, knit stocking
pants
Tinkle = telephone call [give me a tinkle
sometime]; U.S. "tinkle" = children's talk
for "to urinate"
Tip = garbage dump; U.S. tip = hint,
advice, clue
Torch = flashlight; U.S. torch = burning,
flaming light or weapon
Touchline = sideline (in sports, such as
on soccer pitch, etc.)
Tower block = high-rise apartment
building
Trade union = labor union (but usually
organized by "trades" in England, by
"industry" in the U.S. — US "Auto
Workers' Union" would be represented
by different "trades" in GB)
Tram = streetcar, trolley car
Transport cafe = truck stop (roadside
cafeteria, restaurant, popular with truck
[lorry] drivers
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volley a few, to practice-volley
To Knock up = to awaken, call early in
the morning; U.S. "to knock up" is
colloquial for "to impregnate"
Lacquer = hairspray; U.S. lacquer =
wood varnish, shellac (high-gloss), i.e.
protective decorative wood coating
Ladder = (in women's stockings" = a
runner, a run
Lay-by = (beside a road) = a pull-off, a
rest area.
Left-luggage office = check room,
baggage check (room)
Level crossing = railroad crossing.
Lift = elevator
Lip balm = chapstick
Logic-chopping = splitting hairs, hairsplitting
Long jump (in athletics) = broad jump
(in track and field)
Lorry = truck
Loud-hailer = bullhorn, amplified
megaphone
Lucky dip = grab bag (children's party
game or activity ...)
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Traveller = travelling salesman
Treacle = molasses
Trousers = pants; U.S. pants = G.B.
underwear shorts
Trunk call = long-distance call (on a
telephone)
Turn it up (colloquial) = stop it, cut it
out! U.S. "turn it up" = increase the
volume
Undercarrige = landing gear (aircraft)
Underdone = rare (extent to which you
wish your meat cooked)
Underground= subway (cf "subway")
Vest = undershirt; U.S. Vest = G.B.
waistcoat
Windscreen (automotive) = windshield
Wing (automotive) = fender, bumper
(pre-70s designs...)
White spirit = turpentine, paint thinner;
U.S. "white lightning" (spirits) = potent
home-distilled backwoods alcohol!
Wholemeal = whole-wheat (bread, flour,
etc.)
Yankee/Yank = any American in
general, U.S. Yankee = Northeast erner
ONLY, i.e. specific regional, historical
definition
Zebra crossing = crosswalk, pedestrian
crossing (Ped Xing)
"Zed" = "Zee" (pronunciation of last
letter in alphabet)
American to British — (Top) — (Bottom)
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Bathroom = toilet, w.c. (G.B. bathroom
will have bath, washbasin or shower
only)
Billboard = hoarding
Biscuit = scone; G.B. biscuit = U.S.
cookie
Billy club = truncheon
Blank = empty form, i.e. telegraph blank
Block (city block) = city block bounded
by streets on 4 sides, distance between 2
streets or crossings in same direction
Block-busting = "penetration" of a
residential area by an ethnic or minority
group unwelcome by original residents,
who often then sell and leave
Blotter = police official daily record of
happenings in local precinct office
Blowout = puncture (flat tire on car,
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Graham cracker = wholemeal biscuit
Grandstand play = done to impress the
audience in the grandstands rather than
as a requirement of the game, "showy"
action
Ground rules= specific local rules for
particular event or action, sports or
otherwise
Half & Half = dairy mixture of half
cream, half milk (to put in coffee, for use
in baking, etc.)
Handball = game played by hitting a
small, hard ball with bare hand against a
wall in room similar to a squash court —
European "handball" is not 'known' in the
U.S.
Hard-on = male sexual erection
High school = secondary school, senior
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bicycle, etc.)
Blue book = local social register of highstatus families
Blue Cross/Blue Shield = two different
large health-insurance companies
Blue laws = restrictive community
"moral" laws dating from Puritan times,
such as prohibition of liquor sales on
Sunday, limits on public entertainment
on Sundays, etc.
Bomb (theater) = a failure; G.B. bomb
(theatre) = great success
Boner = gaffe, mistake, faux pas
Boot camp = military basic training
period/location
Boondocks = backwoods
Bourbon = corn- (maize-) derived
whiskey
Box car = good waggon (U.S. spelling
"wagon")
Bronx cheer = raspberry (critical noise
...)
Brownie = small, "heavy," rich-chocolate
baked biscuit; also young Girl scout
Brunch = mid-morning meal
(combination of "breakfast & lunch")
Bush league = baseball "minor" training
leagues; also connotes "amateurism,"
unprofessionalism, etc.
Caboose = last waggon on a goods train
Candy = sweets
Car fare = money for transportation fares
Carry-out (food) = take-away (food)
Catch (to play catch [baseball]) =
"playing tag" (US "playing tag" is
children's game where one tries to run
and "catch" or touch ("tag") one of the
other children playing)
"Catch up with him" = "Catch him up"
Checkers = draughts (the game, played
on checker/chess board)
Checking account = current account
(banking)
Comfort station = public convenience
Cone = cornet ("ice cream" cones-British "ice cream" also quite a different
commodity)
Cord (electrical) = flex, lead, wire
Corn = maize; G.B. corn = all types of
grain, unless specified
Cotton candy = candy floss
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) =
Chartered Pub. Account. (CPA)
Cube sugar = lump sugar
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(upper) secondary school
Home free (colloquial) = home & dry
Homely = plain-featured, -looking; GB
homely = domestic, pleasant
Horny = randy
Housing project = housing development,
housing estate
Huddle = planning, tactics conference,
especially in American football, but also
metaphorically in other situations
Hung jury = jury that is divided, cannot
reach a verdict
Jello = jelly; U.S. "jelly" = G.B. "jam";
U.S. "jam" = G.B. "thick [GB] jelly with
fruit embedded"
Kerosene = paraffin, U.S. paraffin = GB
paraffin wax
Longshoreman = docker, dock worker
Lox = smoked salmon, especially
American Jewish usage
Martini = gin & vermouth (combined)
cocktail (does not refer to "Vermouth"
brand name)
Mean = nasty
Mobile home = (trailer) house on wheels,
can be moved behind truck, auto
Mononucleosis, "Mono" = glandular
fever
Nervy = impudent, impertinent, with a
lot of nerve (cf. GB Nervy)
Night crawler = fishing worm
Oatmeal = porridge
Ordinance = by-law (law at local city,
municipal level)
Overpass = flyover
Pacifier = dummy (what baby uses to
suck on when not eating)
Parakeet = budgerigar
Parka = anorak
Patrol wagon, Paddy wagon = black
maria
Pegged pants = tapered trousers
To pinch-hit for = to substitute for in a
particular tactical situation (batting in
Am baseball, or metaphorically)
Plexiglass = Perspex glass (brand names
used as generics)
Potato chips = potato crisps
Quarterback = Am. football team leader,
also to direct, manage, in other situations
Railroad = railway; U.S. railway =
tracks, roadbed which trains run ON;
U.S. "railroad" refers to the enterprise,
i.e. the Union Pacific Railroad
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Diaper = nappy
Dishpan = washing-up bowl
Distaff = female
Double header = two sports games
played as a single event; also used
metaphorically
Draft (military) = conscription into the
armed forces
Druggist = chemist (in commercial
drugstore or pharmacy)
Editorial = leading article (in a
newspaper, periodical)
Eggnog = egg flip (special Christmas
drink in U.S. only)
Engineer = railroad engine-driver
Enjoin = to forbid from doing; GB enjoin
= to compel to do
Eraser = rubber; G.B. rubber is U.S.
condom
"Fairy" = male homosexual, or highly
effiminate-acting male
Field hockey = hockey; U.S. hockey (by
itself) = ice hockey
Filling station = petrol station
Flashlight = torch
Football = U.S. (American) football, not
"soccer"
Formula = baby's prepared liquid food,
replaces breast milk
"Freebee" = anything given away free
Freeway = motorway
Freight car = goods waggon (on a train)
Gangway! = exclamation to "clear a
path!"; G.B. gangway = U.S. aisle (in a
theater, etc.), U.S. gangway [naval term]
= entrance "bridge" from shore onto a
ship
Glee club = club or group for choral
singing
Glue factory = knacker's yard
"Gofer" [to GO out FOR something ... ]
= "dogsbody"
Goldbrick(er) = loaf(er)
Good Humor Man = ice cream peddler in
residential areas
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Raise = rise; U.S. "rise" is slang for male
erection, or, "to get a sensation from ..."
Realtor = estate (real estate) agent
Retroactive = retrospective
Roomer = lodger
Roster = rota
Rubber = condom; GB rubber = US
eraser
Rube Goldberg = Heath Robinson
(stereotyped creators of wacky, bizarre
"inventions" in USA, GB)
Sedan = saloon car
Shellac = high-gloss varnish
Slingshot = catapult; U.S. "catapult" =
G.B. "sling"
Special Delivery = Express (postal) Mail
Station wagon = estate car
Thumbtack = drawing pin (small, flatheaded tack used on bulletin boards or to
attach papers to wooden surfaces; U.S.
"drawing pin" a long, narrow, sharp pin
used in sewing, clothing design, always
with soft fabrics or paper)
Thread = cotton; U.S. cotton = plant,
fiber, material only
Trash = rubbish
Trashcan = dustbin; trashman = dustman
Turtleneck = polo neck (sweaters or
pullovers)
Vaudeville = Music hall (type of
entertainment, style of theater)
Wash up = to wash oneSELF, not the
dishes; G.B. to wash up = to do the
dishes
Wax paper = greaseproof paper
Yard = garden; U.S. garden = vegetable
or flower garden (cultivated area); GB
yard = US paved area, not grassy lawn)
ZIP code = postal code
Zucchini (squash) = courgette (marrow)